Supporting-plate.



No. 959,992. I

J amdeZHAYamm'ezvcaZw MUINESSES:. I

. I v WWW/M760 ATTORNEYS UNITED. STATES 1 PATENT oEEIoE.

SUPPORTING-PLATE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 16, 1907.

Application filed August 29,1906. Serial No. 332,437-

To all whomit may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL HENRY SUMMERSCALES, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, and a resident of Winnipeg, in the Province of Manitobaand Dominion of Canada, have invented anew and ImprovedSupporting-Plate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to a structural plate or sup-' porting plate tobe used in various constructions as an auxiliary support.

The object of the invention is to provide a plate of this kind having aform especially adapting it to its purposes so that it may be readilysecured to the ob- ;ject which, it supports and also to the members uponWhich it rests.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts tobe more fully described'hereinafter and definitely set forth in theclaims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective ofthe plate, a portion of the view beingbroken away; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken through the plateon the line 22of Fig.

1; Fig. 3 is a cross section through the plate and representing the sameas used in railway construction; Fig. 4 is an end elevation showinganother form the plate may take, adapting the same for buildingconstruction, or similar purposes; Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a plateof another form but embodying my invention; Fig. 6 is an end elevationof a plate of another modified form differing slightly from the formshown in Figs. 4 and 5 Fig. 7 is an end elevation of a plate of anothermodified form; Fig. 8 is an end elevation showing a special adaptationof the invention where the plate is of simpler form than that shown inFigs. 4 to 7; Fig. .9 is an elevation showing a construction enablingthe supporting plate to be held in a substantially horizontal position,its extremities resting against a wall or partition; Fig. 10 is an-endelevation of a clapboard or floor board especially adapted to be usedwith my supportingplate; and Fig. 11 shows a modified form which' theclapboard or floor board may take 4 5 when used in connection with myinvention.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents an elongatedrectangular face plate, on the lower side whereof there is formed alongitudinally disposed web or fin 2. The face plate 1 is expectednormally to be held in a horizontal plane, and in one aspect may beconsidered as formed of flanges?) and 4 which project in oppositedirections from the web 2, as indicated inost clearly in Figs. 2 and 3.Near their edges, the flanges 3 and 4 are provided with. suitableopenings 5 which facilitate the attachment of an object to be supportedupon the upper face of the plate 1, as will be readily understood. Inorder to facilitate the attachment of the plate to supports suchashorizontal beams, I provide the web 2 at suitable points with recessesor enlarged notches 6, 7. In applying the supporting plate to the beams,the beams will be received in these notches, as will be readilyunderstood. In case the beams'referred to are formed of invertedchannels, I prefer to provide the side edges of the notches 6, 7 withupwardly projecting slots 8 which will receive the flanges of thechannels, as will be readily understood. In this way, downwardlyprojecting wings 9 are formed between the grooves 8, and I preferthatthese wings should be cut, in practice, so as not to rest upon the websof the channel when used as a supporting beam, as described above. Thesewings 9 I prefer to provide with openings 10 which facilitatetheirattachment to the supporting beams when desired.

In Fig. 3 I illustrate the plate as used in railway C011.

struction. In this connection, the plate is applied longitudinally tothe roadbed beneath the rail 11, the rail being disposed centrally abovethe web 2 as indicated. The notches 6 in the web 2 are arranged so as toreceive the cross-ties of the roadbed, as will be readily understood. Inorder to enable the rail 11 to be securely held to the plate 1, Iprovide clamping blocks 12 which are secured to the flanges 3 and 4 bymeans of bolts 13 which pass through the aforesaid openings 5. Theseclamping blocks 1.2 are formed with inwardly projecting toes 14 whichextend over the side edges of the flange of the rail as shown, so as tograsp the same securely when the nuts of the bolts aretightened.

In order to assist in preventing any force from knocking the toes 14 toone side in such a manner as to rotate the blocks on the bolts, Iprovide the butts of the blocks with downwardly projecting nibs orshoulders 15 which engage the side edges of the flanges, as shown.Evidently, these shoulders will prevent any rotation of the blocks.

As indicated most clearly in Fig. 1, I prefer, at one end of the plate1, to extend one of the flanges beyond the other, thus the far end ofthe plate as shown in Fig.

1, is formed with a projecting extension 16 and a correspondingprojection 17 is formed at the other end. From this arrangement, whenthe plates are laid end for end, the projections 16 and 17 will comeopposite each other and overlap so as to give an interlocking connectionbetween the face plates '1. It should be understood that in railwayconstruction, these plates are laid in this way beneath the rails so asto form continuous plates or girders resting upon the ties and securingthe rails to the ties. In this way a very rigid construction resultswhich'prevents undesirable depression of the rails at the joints andwhich, furthermore, tends to distribute the pressure over a numberof'ties, at the same time tending to prevent creeping of the rails.

other. Centrally disposed beneath the face plate 19 i there is a web 22corresponding to the web 2 described above. Near one edge of the faceplate I provide a cleat 23 which extends continuously longitudinally ofthe plate and is formed with an overhanging lip 24 which forms a groove25 under it and above the face plate 19, as will be readily understood.The individual members of the boarding 18 are formed with rabbeted edges26 which present tongues 27 adapted to engage in the grooves, as shown,and in this way the boards are formed with overlapping beads 28 whichincreases their security when placed in position as indicated in Fig. 4.Instead of adopting the form shown in Fig. 4, I may adopt the form shownin Fig. 5, in which the plate 29 has substantially the same form as thatshown in Fig. 4, with the exception that the cleat 30 is formed doubleso as to present two oppositely projecting lips 31 formed in grooves 32on each side thereof. With this arrangement, the cleat evidently affordsmeans for holding both boards which lie adjacent thereto.

In Fig. 6 I show a construction in which, instead of beveling the sideedges of the face plate, I provide the same with reduced extensions 33,which overlap each other and form what is generally known as a scarfjoint. In this instance, also, I prefer to use the cleat 34 of the formshown in Fig. 4, placing the same centrally, however, just above the web35.

In Fig. 7 I place the web 36 at the side edge of the face plate 37 andplace the cleat 38 near the edge re-,

mote from the web 36.

In Fig. 8 I illustrate a construction wherein I dis- In thisconstruction, I provide supporting face plates 39 and 40, and when theconstruction is set up, the web is securely clamped between thesupporting plates 41, as will be readily understood. In this way, theupper extremity of the keeper 43 constitutes a double cleat, projectingin opposite directions and engaging the rabbeted edges of the boards 46,said boards having tongues 47 formed near the lower sides thereofadapted to engage under the cleats, as will be readily understood.

In Fig. 9 I illustrate a construction in which the supporting plates 48are held in horizontal position by means of vertical end strips 49.These end strips may be placed against a wall or the sides of thepartition, and are provided with horizontal transverse grooves 50 whichare adapted to receive the extremities of the webs 51 of the plates 48,as indicated. In this connection, it should be understood that theplates 48, in being applied, will he slid horizontally into position.

In Fig. 10 I show an end view of a board 52 which is adapted to be usedin connection with the different forms of the supporting plate, the saidboard having rabbeted edges presenting a projecting tongue 53 adapted tobe received under the cleat of the plate or keeper.

Fig. 11 shows a modified form of a board 54, the same having V-shapededges 55 and 56, the edge 56 being cut away on its lower side so as topresent the projecting tongue 57 which will be engaged by the cleat ofthe plate or the keeper, as will be readily understood.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent,

1. A supporting plate comprising an elongated face plate with a centrallongitudinally disposed web on the under side thereof, said web havingnotches therein adapted to receive beams or other supports, said faceplate having openings therein for securing supported members above saidface plate.

2. A supporting plate comprising a web extending longitudinally thereofon the under side and flanges projecting laterally from the upper edgeof said web. one of said flanges being extended beyond the other at eachend where by adjacent plates may interlock when laid longitudinally.

3. A supporting plate comprising a face plate in combination with a raillaid longitudinally thereof, clamping blocks bolted to said face plateand engaging the flange of said rail, said clamping blocks havingshoulders projecting downwardly and engaging the edges of said faceplate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL HENRY SUMMERSCALES.

Witnesses FRED. H. STEWART, JAs. DICHMONT.

